Alkire Symposium on International Business and Economics

Globalization: Ecolab's Journey

Join our guest speaker, Vice President and Treasurer for Ecolab Inc. Ching-Meng Chew, as well as area business leaders, members of the Hamline University community, and others for the 2014 Alkire Symposium.

following our lecture, enjoy a special luncheon

There is no cost for the lecture or luncheon. Limited seating available for lunch. Complete the registration form and reserve your seat for lunch by Wednesday, October 29. RSVP not required for the lecture.

About Ching-Meng Chew

Ching-Meng Chew is vice president and treasurer for Ecolab Inc., the global leader in water, hygiene, and energy technologies and services that provide and protect clean water, safe food, abundant energy and healthy environments. Ecolab’s 40,000 employees deliver comprehensive programs and services to the food, energy, healthcare, industrial, and hospitality markets in more than 160 countries. In his current role, Chew is responsible for leading the Global Treasury function, including capital structure strategies, external banking relationships, cash and debt management, foreign exchange risk management, pension management and employee, auto, property and general liability risk management.

Prior to joining Ecolab in 2009, Chew was the assistant treasurer of Medtronic Inc. Chew also held the position of chief financial officer at SpectraScience, a development-stage medical device company and was the treasurer at SciMED Life Systems Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Boston Scientific. Prior to his positions in the medical device industry, he held roles at Northwest Bank. Chew has served on various nonprofit boards, including the Council of Asian Pacific Minnesotans. He currently serves on the boards of the Minnesota Institute for Talented Youth, the Milestone Growth Fund Inc. and Hamline University’s Board of Trustees.

Chew has a bachelor’s degree from the University Putra Malaysia and received his master’s degree in Business Administration from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.

About the Chair

Beth Gunderson was named the Howard and Darrel Alkire Chair in International Business and Economics in 2012. She is Chair of the Department of Economics, Finance, Accounting and Quant in the Hamline School of Business and serves as the Director of Undergraduate Studies for HSB. She teaches courses in statistics, econometrics, decision science, operations management, finance and First Year Seminars in the economics value of a human life and misleading statistics. She has taught econometrics at the Shanghai University Business and Economics in Shanghai, China. Her consulting and research interests are related to valuing economic losses for litigation purposes and has published on topics related to valuing household services. She earned a BAS from the University of Minnesota, an MBA from the University of St. Thomas and a Ph.D. in Decision Science from the Union Institute and University in Cincinnati, Ohio.

About the Series

The Howard and Darrel Alkire Symposium on International Business and Economics was created to promote discussion about international business and economics issues among policy makers, business and corporate leaders, and the academic community. The late Howard Alkire founded the Country Club Markets and was long-time director and chairman of the executive committee of the Apache Corporation. He had a lifelong interest in international affairs and hoped to leave a legacy to promote awareness of international business and economics with students, faculty members, and regional business leaders. In 1991, his wife, Darrel R. Alkire, a life trustee of Hamline University, established the Howard Alkire Chair in International Business and Economics in memory of her husband and to further his goals.